London assembly member for North East London — fighting your corner at City Hall

24th March 2017

4:58pm

“We will never be cowed by Terrorism”: Londoners come together in heart-warming vigil

RIP to those that lost their lives tragically in the horrible events of Wednesday. I extend my deepest condolences to those who have been affected and my thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues that have lost their loved ones.

Remembrance Vigil

“The Mayor issued an open invitation to all Londoners and visitors to come together to remember victims of the Westminster terror attack.

Speaking to the crowds that gathered for the vigil the Mayor said: “We stand together as Londoners to remember those who have lost their lives. And to send a message around the world – that Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism. Those evil and twisted individuals who seek to destroy our shared way of life will never succeed – and I condemn them.

We are here tonight to remember a Metropolitan Police officer, Keith Palmer, who died while courageously doing his duty – protecting our city, our parliament and keeping Londoners safe. My thoughts are with PC Palmer’s family and colleagues at this awful time. And we are here tonight to pay tribute to Kurt Cochran and Aysha Frade who were also tragically killed. Our city will not forget them, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends tonight, as well as those injured.

When Londoners face adversity we always pull together. We stand up for our values and our way of life. And, as we have done tonight, we show the world exactly what it means to be a Londoner. We always have and I know we always will.”

The Mayor met members of the capital’s emergency services to express his deepest gratitude on behalf of all Londoners for their calm and professional response to the Westminster terrorist attacks. The Mayor said: “On behalf of all Londoners I have today expressed our heartfelt gratitude to London’s emergency services for the way they responded following Wednesday’s awful events.”

Emergency London Assembly Meeting, 23rd March 2017: “Terrorists will never succeed”

The London Assembly condemned the attack on Westminster during an emergency meeting at City Hall on Thursday.

A motion, agreed unanimously, said terrorists will not change London’s democratic way of life or undermine Londoners’ tolerance and solidarity. During the meeting, Assembly Members offered their condolences to those affected by the attack and expressed their gratitude to the emergency services.

Tony Arbour AM, Chairman of the London Assembly, who proposed the motion, said: “The Assembly gathered today in great sadness and reflected on yesterday’s tragic events. As Londoners, we watched in disbelief and horror, as peace was shattered in our capital.

The thoughts of the Assembly are with those who were injured and with the families of those who lost their loved ones. We commend the work of emergency services, in particular PC Keith Palmer, who lost his life to protect others.

This is a time for Londoners to show solidarity and we do so by not allowing terrorists to succeed in their aims to destroy our way of life.”

Message from the Mayor“I wanted to thank everyone involved in the response to Wednesday’s horrific events near Parliament Square.

London is an amazingly resilient city, even in the face of terrorist attacks like we saw on Wednesday. The way that the emergency services, TfL and other agencies responded shows our city at its very best. I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone at City Hall in expressing our gratitude to what they do, day in day out, to keep us all safe.

Tragically, PC Keith Palmer lost his life in the line of duty, and three other police officers were injured. My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected at this difficult time.

Many of you helped make the vigil in Trafalgar Square happen at very short notice. I want to thank those involved – it was a dignified yet defiant response to a tragic couple of days, showing London at its very best.

You may have noticed a slight increase in security around City Hall since the attacks. This is a prudent measure, but is not in response to any specific threats. We will keep this under review.

You are a credit to London. Without all you do, we would not be the greatest city in the world.”